Scholarship

The family of Dr. Robert E. Karp

Born in Rockford, Illinois on May 25, 1930, Robert was the second of four children born to Floyd J. and Frances M. Karp. In 1947, Robert graduated from West Rockford High School, and after working for one year, attended Illinois State University where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1952. In September 1952, he entered the USAF. He graduated with honors from Officers Candidate School OCS 53-D in San Antonio, Texas, and after relocating to Cheyenne, Wyoming, he attended the USAF supply school. Robert left the Air Force in 1956 as a First Lieutenant with an honorable discharge and was very proud of his decision to have been part of the military during the Korean War. He then chose to continue his graduate-level education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.After receiving his master’s degree in Business Administration while at Northern Illinois University, Robert began working on is doctorate degree at NIU while teaching management classes in sales, marketing, and advertising at the Rockford School of Business. During this time he was also raising a young family. In June 1966, Robert was awarded a doctorate from NIU with majors in marketing, management, and education, and subsequently became an associate professor of management at NIU. One of many career highlights came in January 1967 when Dr. Karp was hired by Robert W. Galvin, the President and CEO of the Motorola Corporation, as the first dean of the Motorola Executive Institute in Tucson, Arizona.Throughout his professional teaching career of 46 years, influencing countless business students, including NIU the Rockford School of Business, the Motorola Executive Institute, the University of West Florida and Jackson State University. Robert also had opportunities to continue his education through post graduate studies at the Motorola Executive Institute, the University of Michigan, the Harvard Graduate School of Business, the University of California, and the University of Poland.Robert had a very curious and probing mind and took advantage of new opportunities in studying new cultures and education. During his career, he would frequently combine travel with teaching and research. These travels included teaching opportunities in the United Kingdom, Budapest Hungary, and Warsaw, Poland. Robert especially enjoyed the last 10 years of his career in that his full-time teaching responsibilities also allowed him time for student contact, travel, research, and writing. Robert authored and edited five books and had more than one hundred professional papers to his credit. Lifetime travels included international trips to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, and Greece.“Gladly Would He Learn and Gladly Teach” was a philosophy that served Robert as a guiding light throughout his professional career. Dr. Karp passed JUL 15, 2014 in Orlando Fl. Survived by him are his sons, David of Pensacola, FL, Daniel (Leslie) of Winter Garden, FL, grandchildren Andrew and Katie, brother Richard of Cathedral City, CA and sister, Janet Wills of Rockford, IL. His ashes reside at Barrancas National Cemetery Pensacola Naval Air Station.